Is a knee brace advantageous after anterior cruciate ligament surgery?

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of a knee brace after arthroscopic anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction using central third patellar tendon autografts. Fifty patients were randomly allocated to two groups. The patients in Group A wore a brace for three weeks post‐operatively, while the patients in Group B were rehabilitated without the use of a brace. Pre‐operatively, the groups were comparable in terms of age, sex, activity level, knee laxity and muscle strength. The follow‐up examination was performed by one independent observer. All the patients were followed up for a minimum of two years. At the follow‐up, there were no significant differences between the study groups in terms of the Tegner activity level, Lysholm score, IKDC evaluation system, one‐leg‐hop quotient, KT‐1000 measurements and isokinetic torque. Using the visual analogue scale, the patients in Group A evaluated their pain during the first two post‐operative weeks as 1.0 (0–7), compared with 2.3 (0–9) in Group B ( P =0.04). Furthermore, the patients in Group A had a tendency towards fewer problems with swelling, haemathrosis and wound leakage during the early post‐operative period ( P =0.08). We conclude that the patients who were rehabilitated with the use of a brace had less pain and a tendency towards fewer complications during the early post‐operative period than the patients who were rehabilitated without the use of a brace. However, there were no differences in terms of function or knee laxity at the two‐year follow‐up.